📊 Say-do ratio report: Track sprint commitments vs. delivery in Jira ⚡

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Agile teams often face a critical challenge: understanding why sprint goals are missed. Was it unrealistic planning? Scope creep? Estimation issues? Without visibility into how commitments evolve during sprints, teams struggle to improve their delivery predictability. The Say-do ratio report transforms this challenge by revealing the complete story behind commitment gaps – showing not just what was planned versus delivered, but also how scope changes along the way.

Want to see this in action before diving deeper? We've created a fully interactive example that lets you explore the chart's capabilities hands-on.

👉 Try the interactive Say-do ratio chart 📊 example – adjust settings, test configurations, and see real-time results. This powerful chart is available through the Agile Velocity Charts app for your Jira Dashboard.

Let's explore why Jira's native tools fall short and how both the example and the app address these gaps.

The limitations of Jira's native chart

Jira's native Velocity Chart is the closest option for tracking sprint commitments, but it provides only a surface-level view of delivery reliability. While it shows committed versus completed story points, it lacks the depth needed to understand why outcomes differ from plans or how sprint scope evolves.

Here's what you're missing with Jira's built-in reporting:

❌ Single-team focus – The Velocity Chart is board-specific and can't aggregate data across multiple teams, making program-level tracking impossible.

❌ Fixed time range – You're limited to a set number of sprints with no flexibility to filter by sprint name patterns, releases, or custom criteria.

❌ No visibility into scope evolution – The chart doesn't show how commitments change during sprints through added work, removed items, or re-estimation.

❌ No benchmarking tools – There's no way to display target lines, averages, or percentage views to evaluate commitment reliability across teams of different sizes.

❌ Filtering, grouping, and drill-downs aren't available – You can't break down the data by issue type, epic, assignee, or dive into specific issues behind the numbers.

In short, Jira's Velocity Chart tells you what happened but not why – leaving teams without the insights needed to improve planning accuracy or execution discipline.

Powerful alternative: Say-do ratio report by Broken Build

The Say-do ratio report goes far beyond basic velocity tracking by combining commitment metrics, scope-adjustment insights, and delivery trends into one comprehensive view. Instead of just comparing "committed" versus "completed," it tracks four distinct metrics: initial commitment (the "say"), final commitment, total scope change, and completed work (the "do"). This reveals whether delivery shortfalls stem from unstable scope, inaccurate estimation, or execution gaps.

What makes this solution stand out is its configurability and transparency. The interactive example demonstrates these capabilities in real-time – you can experiment with different settings, test various filters, and see how the chart responds instantly. This hands-on experience shows exactly what you'll get when you install the Agile Velocity Charts app on your Jira Dashboard.

Say-do ratio report: Key features & JTBD

The Say-do ratio chart gadget offers powerful capabilities that work together to reveal the complete story behind your sprint commitments. Here are the three most impactful features that transform commitment tracking:

📈 Visualize initial commitment, final commitment, scope changes, and completed work

The Say-do ratio report combines four critical metrics to show exactly how each sprint evolved from planning to completion. You see the initial commitment (what the team originally committed to), the final commitment (the scope at sprint end), the total scope change that occurred mid-sprint, and the completed work delivered. All metrics are normalized against either initial or final commitment, making it easy to compare sprints or teams regardless of size.

This four-metric view immediately reveals patterns that single-metric charts hide. When initial and final commitments differ significantly, you know the scope was unstable. When completed work matches the final commitment but not the initial, the team executed well, but planning was off. In the interactive example, you can toggle these metrics on and off to see how each one tells part of the commitment reliability story.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Distinguish execution from planning issues – See whether missed goals stem from poor sprint execution or unrealistic initial commitments

• Track commitment evolution – Understand how scope morphs during sprints rather than just seeing start versus end states

• Compare across contexts – Use percentage normalization to evaluate commitment reliability for teams of different sizes or velocity levels (try switching between absolute and percentage views in the example to see this in action)

• Focus improvement efforts – When you know whether the problem is planning, scope stability, or execution, you can target retrospectives and process changes effectively

🔍 Breakdown view and issue list for root cause analysis

Every data point on the Say-do ratio chart is interactive. Click any sprint or interval to open the Breakdown view, which lets you compare results across boards, projects, or issue types. From there, use the "Find issues" option to access the Issue list – a detailed view showing the exact work items that contributed to each metric, complete with story points, assignee, and status information.

This drill-down capability transforms abstract metrics into concrete examples. Instead of seeing "30 story points were added mid-sprint," you see the specific issues, when they were added, who worked on them, and whether they were completed. This transparency eliminates speculation and grounds retrospective discussions in facts.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Connect metrics to reality – Link high-level ratios directly to the issues and team members behind them

• Investigate patterns – Identify whether certain issue types, epics, or assignees consistently drive scope changes (use the breakdown view in the example to explore this)

• Support retrospectives – Bring concrete evidence into sprint reviews instead of relying on memory or opinions

• Enable accountability – Make it clear what work contributed to commitment gaps without pointing fingers unfairly

📊 Display scope-adjustment metrics to understand why commitments changed

To understand what drives scope changes during sprints, the Say-do ratio chart lets you display three additional metrics from the menu: Added work (new items introduced mid-sprint), Removed work (items taken out of the sprint), and Estimation change (re-estimation of existing work). The formula is simple: Total scope change = Added work + Removed work + Estimation change.

These metrics reveal whether scope instability comes from unplanned work flooding in, deliberate scope adjustments, or estimation inaccuracy. For example, when a significant portion of total scope change stems from estimation changes rather than added work, it signals that teams initially underestimate effort – a pattern that requires different solutions than managing scope creep.

🎯 Why this helps:

• Diagnose root causes – Determine whether scope changes result from external pressures (added work), team decisions (removed work), or estimation problems (re-estimation)

• Target improvements precisely – Address scope creep, estimation practices, or planning processes based on what the data reveals

• Set realistic expectations – Help Product Owners and stakeholders understand the types of changes that typically occur during sprints (the example shows real patterns you might recognize in your own teams)

• Measure progress – Track whether process improvements reduce specific types of scope volatility over time

These three core features work together to provide unprecedented transparency into sprint commitment reliability. Both the interactive example and the Agile Velocity Charts app give you this complete picture – the example lets you explore capabilities risk-free, while the app delivers these insights directly on your Jira Dashboard with your real team data.

Additional powerful capabilities

Beyond the core features above, the Say-do ratio report includes several advanced capabilities that give you even more control over your commitment analysis:

🎯 Track initial commitment completion rates – See exactly what portion of your original sprint commitment was actually delivered by sprint end. This metric reveals whether teams consistently deliver what they initially planned, regardless of scope changes. You can even configure whether estimation changes should adjust this metric, giving you flexibility in how you measure success.

📊 Visualize long-term trends with moving averages – Display average lines for any metric to spot patterns over time. Choose between simple averages or moving averages to smooth out sprint-to-sprint fluctuations and reveal whether commitment reliability is improving, declining, or staying consistent. The example shows how average lines transform noisy data into clear directional trends you can act on.

🔎 Filter issues by type, epic, release, or custom criteria – Narrow your analysis to specific subsets of work using issue type filters, epic selections, release versions, or custom JQL queries. This lets you compare commitment patterns between bugs and features, track specific initiatives, or analyze any slice of your backlog. The Agile Velocity Charts app supports all standard Jira fields for maximum filtering flexibility.

⚙️ Control sprint selection with pattern matching – When multiple teams share the same board, use sprint name patterns to include only relevant sprints in your analysis. You can also fine-tune the timeline by including or excluding active sprints, closed sprints, or limiting the total number of sprints displayed. Try different sprint configurations in the interactive example to see how this affects your analysis.

These additional capabilities ensure the Say-do ratio chart adapts to your specific workflow, team structure, and reporting needs – whether you're tracking a single team's patterns or analyzing commitment reliability across an entire program.

How the Say-do ratio report works in action (Interactive example)

The best way to understand the Say-do ratio report is to experience it firsthand. We've created a fully interactive, clickable example that goes far beyond a static screenshot – it's a working version of the chart that responds to your inputs in real time, just like the Agile Velocity Charts gadget on your actual Jira Dashboard.

The interactive example demonstrates exactly what you'll get when you add the Say-do ratio report to your Jira Dashboard through the Agile Velocity Charts app. It's not just a preview – it's a fully functional version that helps you make an informed decision about whether this chart addresses your team's needs.

👉 Say-do ratio report 📊 interactive example – Explore the live demo and test different configurations!

Spend a few minutes with the example, and you'll immediately see how this level of commitment visibility can transform your sprint retrospectives and planning sessions.

Setting up the Say-do ratio report on your Jira Dashboard

Once you've explored the interactive example and confirmed that the Say-do ratio report addresses your team's needs, setting it up on your actual Jira Dashboard is quick and straightforward. Say-do ratio report is part of the Agile Velocity Charts app, available as a separate gadget or inside the Agile Reports & Gadgets bundle. The setup process takes just a few minutes, and once configured, the chart updates automatically with your team's latest data – just like you experienced in the example.

Here's how to get started:

1️⃣ Go to your Jira Dashboard – Navigate to any existing dashboard or create a new one where you want to track commitment reliability.

2️⃣ Click "Add gadget" – Use the dashboard menu to open the gadget directory, where you can browse available reporting options.

3️⃣ Search for "Agile Velocity Charts" – Find the app in the gadget list. This includes the Say-do ratio chart along with other velocity analytics.

4️⃣ Click "Add" and configure – Select your data source (one or more Scrum boards), choose which metrics to display (initial commitment, completed work, scope changes), set filters and display options as needed, and decide whether to use percentage or absolute values. The configuration options mirror what you tested in the interactive example, so you'll already be familiar with them.

That's it! Your Say-do ratio chart is now live on your dashboard, automatically pulling data from your selected boards and updating as sprints progress. The gadget functions exactly like the interactive example you explored, but now with your team's real data. You can refine the configuration anytime by clicking the gadget's edit icon.

Start tracking commitment reliability today

Implementing the Say-do ratio report transforms how Agile teams understand and improve their planning accuracy. Instead of generic "we need to estimate better" discussions, retrospectives become focused on specific patterns: Are we consistently over-committing? Is mid-sprint work disrupting our plans? Are estimation changes happening in particular issue types? With this visibility, teams move from reactive problem-solving to proactive process improvement.

The Say-do ratio in Jira interactive example gives you immediate access to this transformation – you can start exploring commitment patterns right now without installing anything. Then, when you're ready, the Agile Velocity Charts app brings these same insights directly to your Jira Dashboard with your team's actual data.

Here's what becomes possible with the Say-do ratio chart:

✅ Identify systematic patterns – Spot whether commitment gaps stem from planning, scope instability, or execution issues

✅ Compare across contexts – Use percentage views to evaluate teams of different sizes or velocity levels fairly

✅ Track improvement over time – Monitor averages and trends to see whether planning accuracy is getting better or worse

✅ Support stakeholder communication – Explain sprint outcomes with data showing exactly how commitments evolved

✅ Drive targeted improvements – Focus process changes on the actual root causes revealed by scope-adjustment metrics

Ready to transform your sprint planning and retrospectives? Start with the interactive example to experience the chart's capabilities, then install the Agile Velocity Charts app to bring these insights permanently to your Jira Dashboard.

The path to predictable delivery starts with understanding why plans diverge from outcomes 🚀